Colostomy appliance



Oct. 12, 1954 Y. J. TASSE I COLOSTOMY APPLIANCE Filed Aug. 30, 1952 a ....v...u. o n 1 v v 1 l I v 4 1 I n 0 WMWWJ/VVVVVVVVVVVVJ/ 6 M. "a 5 I a 2 T w 5 0 6 vm i 3 j I A W 7 E 3 i Z a I II 1 6 5 2 i A I Oil & A

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Patented Oct. 12, 1954 UNITED STATES PAT EN T OFFICE.

COLOSTOMY APPLIANCE YvonJ. Tasse, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Application August 30, 1952; Serial No.--30 T-,344'

9. Claims.v (Cl. 128-283) outer contours of which so. nearly conform-tethebody surface as torender. the appliance non perceptible through .an outer garment even. whenthelatterisof a close fitting nature.

. Another object is touprovide. an appliance of. the character described which isot asemi-rigid plastic or like substance-the component parts of which, in assembled relation will. respondtoflexing and distortion of the body and will return.

to its normal condition. after such. distortion,

A- still. further obj ect. is to.- provide an. appliance. of the character. described with a novel assemblyarrangement by which anaccumulator bagmay befirmly secured. in place so.as tozform a perfect sealbctween the-bag. and.- the. body or the wearer Heretofore; it has. been the custom; to. provide. heavy and-.awlrwardcolostomy appliances-which,., not only produced unsi-g-htly bulges. on. outer garmen-ts, but whichdepended upon the application of distorting pressure: against the abdominal. wall of the-body tomaintain the appliance inseal-ing engagement with thebody. Such; distorting pres-- sure; not. only becomes unbearably uncomfortable tothe wearer, but also tends to protrude the: mucous membrane of the evacuation out-- let. beyond-the abdominal-wall, which may eventually. distort the sh-ape oi theoutlet andthesun rounding area to an objectionablesize- Further-- more; such distorting pressurev tends to reducev the-blood: circulation which would in itself. result. in serious consequences if sustained.

.Another objectionable feature of the conventional colostomy appliances is in. the manner in.

which the accumulator bags are attached. In.- practically: all cases thev assembly unitsv are so.' arranged as to provide an objectionable:bulgeatthe point of juncture between the: bag andappliance; In. certain of the appliances the-bag is introduced through: theafront of an aperture in. theappliance sothat portions of the bag are disposed: in contact with the bodywith the marginal portions of; the bag turned over a body contactring. In suclr cases-the fastening of the marginalportions'tends.

to. form pleating or gathering of the wall. of the bag around the ring with resultantuneyenness. tothe body contact surface. This causes open spaces, irritation and. discomfort to the wearer.

It. then. becomes necessar to apply additional distorting. pressure on. the abdominal. walls. to cause the body surface to fill. up these spaces. The resultis that the wearer is subjectedto. another. form of discomfort. v

In order to" overcome all of? these objectionable features of the colostomy appliances whichare currently in. use; I. have conceived an appliance which is to. be specifically designed to meet the particular requirements of. eachind'ividual. Itv

will be appreciated, thereforethat eachappl'iance is designed to, as nearly as possible, the exact dimensions oi the individual for which it isintended, although certain of the. characteristic features of my appliance will be universal.

resides. in. the provisionof. a body contacting and.

bag. carrying discwhich, when. applied tothe body,.

is in the reclining or. horizontal position. The

reasonv for this. is that there are substantial changes in the body contours in both. of these positions, with. the resultthat a disc which conforms to. the. body contours in the one position willin'otlieflatagainst the. body-when in the other position. without applying body distorting. pres.- sure tothe appliance. The eliminationof. such distortion is, .'however,, one of.' the primary objectsof. this invention.

Another feature resides in the provision of a shallowconvexshaped' outer carrier disc which.

g-ripsthe mouth of. ahagaroundthe collar. ofth'e inner disc so. as. tosecure the bag-.in sealing en:- gagement, and which. provides a substantially smooth and. almost flat. surface to the assembly by. reason. of itsmaximum. d'ept'h adjacent the. collar being. equal. to. the depth of the. collar and; the.

taper-ingot the disc. from. its. maximumwidth. to

the outer periphery. This latter tapering provides? a thin marginal outeredge to which the. defining 5 edge oi an opening ina girdleor like garmentmay be secured in overlapping relation; without creat ing anappreciable bulge.

"Theta-bore and other objects; advantages and characteristic tea-tunes of my invention: will be understood. more:.readily from. the following; de-

A. particular personal feature of thisinvention 3 tailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is an elevational view showing one embodiment of my invention in association with a girdle or like garment.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view enlarged, of my invention shown in Fig. 1, with associated parts of the garment.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modification thereof.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the lines 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view illustrating the manner in which an impression of a body is taken to provide a mould for one of the discs of my appliance.

Figs. 7 to 10 inclusive are sectional views through a molding box showing various details in the construction of moulds and the resultant discs obtained therefrom.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 5 of the drawings, 5 designates a bag supporting disc provided with a central opening 6 which is adapted to surround an evacuation opening, generally indicated at i in the abdominal wall 8 of the wearer. A collar 9 defining the opening 6 is provided with a peripheral recess I intermediate the outer surface of disc and a lip II at the outer edge of the collar 9.

A bag I2 of suitable disposable material and provided with an inwardly projecting annular beading I3 at the mouth end thereof, is fitted around collar 9 with the beading I3 received in the recess In between the disc 5 and the lip II of the collar. A carrier disc I4, provided with a central opening I5 is then fitted about the collar 9 with the bag protruding through its central opening. Carrier disc I4 flatly engages the outer surface of disc 5 and the marginal defining edge of its central opening I5 compresses the beaded portion I3 of the bag into the collar recess It to secure the bag in its fitted position about the collar 9.

In Figs. 1 to 3 I have shown one embodiment of my invention which has been fitted in a girdle I6. The girdle I6 is provided with an opening II behind which the marginal portion I8 adjacent the peripheral edge of carrier disc I4 is disposed so as to flatly engage the inner surface of the girdle surroundin opening II. Lines of stitching- I9 secure the disc I4 at its marginal portion I8 to the girdle I6. To assemble, the bag supporting disc 5 is first placed against the abdomen to surround the evacuation opening 'I. Bag I2 is then fitted over collar 9 with the annular beading I3 in recess I0. That portion of girdle It, which carries disc I4, is then fitted against the wearer so that disc I4 is brought to bear against disc 5 with the bag protruding through the central opening I5 in disc I4 and the defining edge of the said opening I5 surrounding collar 9' and compressing the beading I3 of the bag into the recess I0 provided therefor. Although not illustrated,

it will be obvious that my device may be similarly applied to a corset or other abdominal supporting band.

In Figs. 4 and 5, I have illustrated a modified arrangement for securing my device about the wearer. The disc I4 is provided with fastening elements 20 at opposite sides to which complementary fastening elements 2I at opposite ends of a waist encircling band 22 are secured. Preferably one end of band 22 is first secured to one Spacer blocks of the fastening elements on disc It. The disc I4 is then fitted against the bag supporting disc 5 in the manner above described, and then the band, after being passed around the waist of the wearer is secured by its fastening element 29 at the free end thereof to the complementary fastening element 2| at the opposite side of the disc I4. Band 22 may be of resilient stretchable material and/or provided with suitable adjusting elements of a conventional nature (not shown) for adjusting its length to suit the wearer.

The bag supporting disc 5 is moulded to fit the contours of the area of the body with which it comes in contact and is made of a flexible material, which is preferably of plastic composition, and which will follow any distortion of the body due to constant swell and recess inherent in breathing, or flexing of the body in any position. The moulded disc 5 should be of approximately uniform thickness beyond the adjacent edge of the collar recess I0, and should be sufficiently thin to enable it to revert at all times to its normal contour, which follows the normal contour of the body, regardless of the distortion to which it is subjected.

In order to provide such a moulded disc, an impression of the area of the body with which the disc will come in contact, is taken. For best results separate impressions should be taken in both an erect position for daytime wear, and in a reclining position for nighttime wear. The importance of this will be readily appreciated upon the realization that the body contours vary considerably in the erect and reclining positions. The device is particularly designed to conform to the body contours for snug fitting rather than resorting to the application of pressure on the body to distort the same to comply with the surface dimensions of the device. Thus the desirability of separately moulded discs 5 for daytime and nighttime wear will be apparent. As the method of taking the impression is identical for both positions, I have only shown the taking of one impression, as illustrated in Fig. 6. This comprises the formation of a mould 25 by the application of plaster of Paris impregnated gauze while in a plastic state to the body surface surrounding the evacuation openin I. The impregnated gauze is spaced from said opening by a tubular member 25 to provide a central opening of a size which will conform with the diameter of opening 5 in the resultant moulded disc 5.

Mould 25 is then placed in a box 21, as shown in Fig. '7, after tubular member 26 has been removed. The box is provided with a central tubular wall 28 the diameter of which corresponds to the diameter of the removed member 26. A mould of ceramic plaster 29 is then made which takes the impression of the contours on the surface of plaster of Paris mould 25. A second ceramic plaster mould 3|] is then made with a substantially flat moulding surface which will substantially parallel the surface of mould 29, except for the slight undulations in the surface of the mould 29. As shown in Fig. 8, it is necessary, before pouring the molding composition of mould 30, to provide a form 3| about the tubular wall 28 which will provide the pattern for the collar 9 of the formed disc 5 and pouring inlet 32. When the mould 30 is set, it is removed from the mould box 27 and form III is stripped therefrom.

The mould 29 is then placed in box 21, as shown in Fig. 9, with its contoured surface exposed and the mould is superimposed thereon. 34 regulate the uniform thickness acetate of the-finished disc 5. Plastic is then introduced by meansof a pouringspout 35- through'th-einlet 32' provided in mould 3i!- the region of the collar section 9. A-ir vents 36 through the wall of'mould 30 adjacent the outeriperipherypermit free flow f the plastic between the moulds 29 and 30.

The carrier disc l4 issimilarlymoulded from a plastic material having the" qualities of the plastic employed in the formation of disc 5. As shown in Fig. 10, a bottom mould 31 of ceramic plaster composition is placed in box 21 about tubular wall 28. This mould has a surface which corresponds to the outer surface of the moulded disc 5. A second mould 39, also of ceramic plaster composition, having a concave moulding surface, is then superimposed over mould 31 with the peripheral edges of each mould in contact with each other. A form Ml is placed around tubular wall 28 so as to provide a central opening E in the moulded disc I4 of a diameter intended to provide a snug fitting of the carrier disc I l about the outer periphery of collar 9. It will be seen that with the peripheral ed es of the moulds 37 and 39 in contact relation a suitable space is provided for the formation of the disc M. The plastic is then poured through an opening :12 in mould 39. One or more air vents 38 extend through mould 39 to allow free flowing of the plastic in the formation of disc M.

In Figs. 3 and 5 I have exaggerated the spacing of the opposing edges of collar 9 and the central opening I 5 in disc [4, for the purpose of illustrating the manner in which the internally directed annular beading I3 of bag 12 is received in recess [0. However, in actual practice these opposing edges would normally contact without the walls of the bag therebetween, so that with the bag therebetween, a pressure fit is provided which retains the disc is about the collar 9 against a very considerable pulling stress on the bag. Thus, after an evacuation the weight of the bag and its contents would not be sufiicient to displace the disc It from its position about the collar 9.

It will also be noted that in Fig. 5 the diameter of disc I4 is substantially equal to the diameter of disc 5, while in Fig. 3 the diameter of disc [4 is greater than that of disc 5. The latter arrangement, while not necessary, is preferable where it is desired to secure the disc M to a girdle corset or the like. Thus the overlapping marginal portion around the opening i l in the girdle may be secured to the disc It beyond the overlapping edge of disc 5 and thereby reduce any bulge as a result of a 3-ply overlapping.

The bag [2 is of a disposable type made of thin plastic material which readily lies against the assembled device without creating a perceptible bulge. The annular beading [3 on the inner wall surface of the bag provides direct placement of the beading in the collar recess it without subjecting the bag to any pleating. Thus the maximum sealing effect is obtained when disc [4 is emplaced thereabout. The assembled discs 5 and M with the bag secured therebetween forms a homogeneous appliance which is about A" in total thickness and is not more than about 1 ounce in weight. The outer contour of disc I4 is convex, having its maximum thickness adjacent collar 9 equal to the depth of the collar from the outer surface of disc 5, and tapers to the peripheral edge thereof. Thus is provided an appliance which may be fitted about the wearer without appreciably altering the body contour and with no discernable bulges on the surface 6: I ofan'cuter ga-rment. Moreover, the disc arbein'g moulded to conform with body contours; fits snugly against-the body by a pressure sufficient only to prevent slipping but not enough to distort the body contours or to cause discomfort or irritation to the wearer. For example, when incorporatedi' ina girdle, the holding. pressure of the appliance is no greaterthan that appliedv by the girdle. about the remainderof the body portion encompassed by the girdle.

I claim:

1. A colostomy appliance comprising a substantially flattened disc member for contact engagement with a substantial area of a persons body surrounding a body opening therein, a collar defining a central opening in said disc for surrounding said body opening, a flexible bag having its open end surrounding said collar and a second disc provided with a central opening secured about said collar with saidopen end of the bag retained therebetween, said second disc being disposed to flatly, engage the outer surface of said first mentioned disc when said bag is secured against said collar.

2. A colostomy appliance as set forth in claim 1, in which said second disc is convexly curved on its outer surface to taper from the plane of the outer edge of said collar to points at least adjacent the outer periphery of said first mentioned disc.

3. A colostomy appliance as set forth in claim 1, in which said collar is shaped to provide a pcripheral recess between a peripherally extending lip and the outer surface of said first mentioned disc to receive the marginal portion of said bag.

4. A colostomy appliance as set forth in claim 3, in which said marginal portion of the bag comprises an inwardly directed annular beading receivable in the recess of said collar toprevent slippage of that portion of the ba surrounding the collar when said second disc is disposed in securing engagement about said collar.

5. A colostomy appliance comprising a substantially flattened disc of thin flexible plastic material having its inner surface adapted for contact with a substantial body area surrounding a body opening therein, said disc being provided with a central opening adapted to surround said body opening when the disc is in contact with the body, a collar defining said disc opening and projecting beyond the outer surface of said disc, a flexible ba having its open end surrounding. said collar and a second disc offlexible plastic material provided with a central opening, said second disc being fitted to the outer surface of said first disc with its central opening surrounding said collar in pressure engagement with that portion of said bag surrounding said collar.

6. A colostomy appliance as set forth in claim 5, in which the inner surface of said first disc is moulded to conform to the body contours with which the disc comes into contact.

7. A colostomy appliance as set forth in claim 5, in which said second disc is of a diameter at least equal to the diameter of said first disc, said second disc being provided with a peripheral marginal portion and means fitted to said marginal portion for securing the appliance to the wearer.

8. A colostomy appliance as set forth in claim 7, in which said means comprises an encircling band having terminal portions attachable to the peripheral marginal portion of said second disc at opposite sides thereof.

9. A colostomy appliance as set forth in claim '7, in which said means comprises a waist en- 7 circling garment provided with an openin therein, said. marginal portion of the second disc being secured to the marginal portion of the garment surrounding the opening therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Number Number Name Date Bowman May 2, 1939 Scott July 19, 1949 Perry Apr. 18, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Sept. '7, 1925 

